Ex-girlfriend maintains assault claim against Avs goalie even though he won’t be prosecuted

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

(Photo: Denver Police Department)

Ex-girlfriend maintains assault claim against Avs goalie even though he won’t be prosecuted

(Photo: Denver Police Department)

DENVER — The Denver District Attorney’s Office has opted not to pursue an assault case against Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, but his alleged victim is not ready to drop the accusation, she said Monday.

“I am saddened by the decision of the Office of the Denver District Attorney not to pursue the case,” Evgeniya Vavrinyuk said in a media release. “But I understand that it is difficult to have enough evidence to prove domestic violence cases. I maintain that all of my statements to the press and investigators have been truthful throughout the process.”

Vavrinyuk, Varlamov’s former girlfriend, claimed that he kicked her repeatedly and dragged her by the hair during a fight on Oct. 30. He was initially charged with third degree assault, but prosecutors determined late last week that they could not prove the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, DA spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said.

But Vavrinyuk, a Russian national who struggles with English and has no family in the United States, has maintained that the deck was stacked against her from the start.

“I left the residence that we shared with only my personal items, $10 in my pocket and nowhere to live,” she said. “I was very much vulnerable, alone and confused in a foreign country where I don’t speak the language or have any family or support system.”

She has also said she did not give her representatives permission to ask for money in exchange for interviews.

“While Semyon continued to play hockey, his fans and his employer, the Colorado Avalanche, rallied to his support,” she said. “Meanwhile, many people made derogatory remarks about me and several people profited from my dire circumstances, including those whom I unfortunately trusted.”